Martin Halloran, president of the Police Officers Association, was miffed about the statement that Lee planned to read at Monday’s news conference about the shooting of Mario Woods — especially the part that directed Chief Greg Suhr “to take specific, immediate action to ensure (officers) have more options to resolve situations with the minimum use of force.”

“It should be ‘reasonable’ force,” Halloran said. “Minimal force means you have to work your way step by step up the ladder.”

He added, “When you respond to a call and find someone with a gun in their waistband, you should not have to start out with a verbal command, then go up to pepper spray or baton or some other tactic before you draw your gun.”

So when Lee asked Halloran to show up along with the police chief for the City Hall news conference, the union president declined.

“Basically, the mayor brought the actions of our officers into question,” Halloran said.

He said the officers who opened fire on Woods last Wednesday “followed every departmental protocol, and shot only after after having exhausted every other means of nonlethal use of force.”

In his statement, the mayor said that he had seen the cell phone video of the five officers firing at least 15 rounds at Woods and that “I found it very upsetting. ... It raised a number of questions.”

Lee wasn’t alone in his concerns. Police Commissioner Joe Marshall, who was on hand with the mayor, later told reporters, “The fact that one officer fired, then all the other officers fired, is what has the community up in arms. To me, it felt like an execution.”

A woman who declined to give her name displayed a photo of the victim, Mario Woods, during a town hall meeting on Dec. 4.

Photo: Michael Macor, The Chronicle

Halloran countered, “You can’t judge a situation on the basis of an eight-second video.” He noted that Woods, who had allegedly stabbed a man in the shoulder, had been pepper-sprayed and shot with nonlethal beanbags, and still wasn’t surrendering.

Shocking as the images were of police circling and then gunning down Woods, a black man, it went largely unnoticed that the officer who first stood in Woods’ path and took aim at him was himself African American, according to police sources.

However, Supervisor Malia Cohen, who represents the Bayview, said there is clear frustration in the African American community no matter the color of the officers.

“This is not a black-white issue. This is a classic power struggle — those that have power were exercising power over the powerless, and that transcends race and class,” Cohen said.

“That was an ethnically diverse firing squad,” she said, “but the shooting victim was still powerless.”

One of the light and paint displays that will dazzle motorists on Highway 87 underpasses in San Jose.

Photo: Courtesy City of San Jose

Painting the town:San Jose is adding a bit of splash to its downtown by turning two Highway 87 underpasses into dazzling artworks — complete with painted murals, LED lighting and sensors that allow passersby to interact with the exhibits.

The $600,000 underpass art is funded by a combination of grants and developer fees. It’s part of the city’s push to make downtown “look and feel like the capital of Silicon Valley,” said San Jose public arts director JenniferEaston.

The artworks at the San Fernando Street and Santa Clara Street underpasses are expected to be lit up Friday in time for the holidays, Easton said.

If all goes well, don’t be surprised to start seeing psychedelic underpasses sprouting up all over the place — and not just in the South Bay’s capital.

Buzzer beater? Even as San Francisco wraps up its approvals of the Warriors’ proposed arena, the small but well-financed opposition from the Mission Bay Alliance is promising to take its fight to court — and maybe even the ballot box.

“No doubt about it,” alliance spokesman Sam Singer said.

The alliance, which is made up of a handful of deep-pocketed UCSF benefactors, is expected to file at least two lawsuits to stop the $1 billion-plus arena from being built next to the university’s medical center at Mission Bay.

One suit would challenge the the environmental impact report and take aim at the 235-day time limit under state law for deciding a legal challenge.

The other would seek to invalidate the memorandum of understanding signed by UCSF Chancellor Sam Hawgood and Warriors officials that allows the arena to block the medical center’s views of the bay in exchange for the team agreeing to parking and traffic improvements.

Warriors spokesman P.J. Johnston said that the suits would come as no surprise and that “we are confident our EIR will hold up in court.”

If all else fails, arena opponents said, they may take the fight to the voters.

Alliance backers released a poll Monday purporting to show support for the arena project slipping below 50 percent. But they have yet to show they can mobilize the kind of public support needed to halt the project.

In the meantime, the Warriors are still hoping to break ground next year and have the 18,000-seat arena open in time for the 2018-19 season.

San Francisco Chronicle columnists Phillip Matier and Andrew Ross appear Sundays, Mondays and Wednesdays. Matier can be seen on the KPIX TV morning and evening news. He can also be heard on KCBS radio Monday through Friday at 7:50 a.m. and 5:50 p.m. Got a tip? Call (415) 777-8815, or e-mail matierandross@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @matierandross

Whether writing about politics or personalities, Phil Matier has informed and entertained readers for more than two decades about the always fascinating Bay Area and beyond. The blend of scoops, insights and investigative reporting can be found every Sunday, Monday and Wednesday in the Chronicle.